DPR: seizure of two villages near Mariupol by the Armed Forces of Ukraine - a reason for the resumption of hostilities

Taking control of two villages near Mariupol by the Ukrainian armed forces (AFU) may become a prerequisite for the resumption of hostilities.

As the deputy commander of the corps of the Ministry of Defense of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Eduard Basurin said on Friday, "the violent seizure of these settlements by the Armed Forces of Ukraine is a prerequisite for the resumption of the outbreak of hostilities."

According to him, which was cited by the Donetsk News Agency (DAN), the settlements of Shirokino, Vinogradnoe, Pavlopol, Pishchevik and Hnutovo, located in the buffer zone near the contact line of the parties near Mariupol, were not under the control of the Kiev authorities at the time of the signing of the Minsk agreements.

Earlier on Thursday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces announced the return of control over Pavlopol and Pishchevik of Donetsk region, which are in the "gray zone".

“Now there will be a military commandant's office, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, an emergency service and a civil-military administration. Bus routes to Mariupol will also be resumed in Pavlopol, ”said General Staff Speaker Vladislav Voloshin.

At the same time, according to the head of the military-civil administration of the Donetsk region Pavel Zhebrovsky, Pavlopol and Pishchevik have not yet left the "gray zone", since checkpoints need to be built there. One such point, according to the official, requires 2.5-3 million hryvnia and 3 weeks of work.